GOLIAD – The Goliad County Sheriff’s Office would be happy to cooperate the City of Goliad in establishing its own police force, according to Sheriff Kirby Brumby.

During a workshop session at the July 16 meeting of the Goliad City Council, Goliad ISD Superintendent Emilo Vargas III and several citizens supported the idea of the city creating its own police department.

Mayor Jay Harvey spoke in favor of creating a Goliad PD and told the council that he had been told by Kirby that the city could use the GCSO jail and dispatch services.

“They will not have to buy a communications system,” Brumby said Friday. “We’d have to have an interlocal agreement, but we would dispatch for them and we will also house their inmates when they arrest somebody.”

Part of the effort to create a Goliad PD has stemmed from the failed attempts by the county and Goliad ISD to agree upon an interlocal agreement providing a school resource officer for Goliad ISD.

In February, the county and Goliad ISD entered into an interlocal agreement for an SRO, but the county terminated the contract in May after Goliad ISD refused to agree to a revised contract, which gave the GCSO more supervision of the SRO.

The contract is scheduled to expire Sept. 30.

“My comment to both the school district and the city was we can’t have too many lawmen and we could all work together very nicely and supplement each other,” Brumby said.

Supporters of creating a Goliad PD stated during the July 16 meeting that the GCSO has no power to enforce city ordinances and often leaves the city with no patrol officers when it has to be outside the city limits for major wrecks or other incidents.

“We do get lots of calls in the city and we would turn all those calls over to the city officers,” Brumby said. “I don’t know if they realize how many calls they’ll get. They would probably have to hire a chief and at least three officers or maybe four to be able to staff it 24/7.”

Brumby said he and Chief Deputy Ellie Carter have spoken with Goliad City Administrator Larry Zermeno about the possibility of the city establishing its own police department. Goliad created its own PD in November 1979 but disbanded it in September 1985.

“We assured (Zeremeno) that we would certainly help the city in any way we could,” Brumby said.

The GCSO has 12 officers, including Brumby, who patrol the city and county. Brumby said he felt no personnel would not have to make personnel cuts if the city started its own PD.

“We would probably not have to cut back,” Brumby said. “The state is going to allow us to operate the weigh station (on U.S. Highway 59) and we’re going to take at least one officer and hopefully two to license in weight school and get them certified to license weights. With the county commissioners’ OK, we’ll be able to open up the weigh station a whole lot more often.”

The city is studying how nearby city police departments share facilities and personnel with their counties.